Between Marriage And Merger

She approached Saks Fifth Avenue, with its stony facade and procession of American flags flapping high above the famous windows. The displays, like the weather, were harkening the start of spring with flashes of pretty pastels and flowers. Lily marched through the door and nearly walked straight into Charlotte. “You’re here already.”

“I don’t like to be late.”

Lily pulled back the sleeve of her coat to consult her watch. She was still five minutes early. “Where to first?”

“Follow me.” Through the sprawling cosmetics department, avoiding salespeople threatening spritzes of expensive perfume, up the escalators they went.

Lily had never even been in this store before, although she had been to the outlet a block or two away. It wasn’t that Lily was averse to spending a lot of money on clothes. It was more the product of growing up in a very middle-class family. It wasn’t something that was done. And she’d always acted accordingly.

Lily followed as Charlotte got off on one floor and started tooling around like this was a time trial. Even more than five months pregnant, Charlotte was hell on wheels. “For the record, we should not be doing this on such short notice. We leave in three days.”

Lily hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but Charlotte was right. They’d be leaving for the Florida Keys Friday morning, flying on the Locke private jet, no less. Talk about being plucked from one world and landing in another.

Lily trailed along as garments flew off the racks in the department of every classic high-end designer you could imagine. Escada. Chanel. Louis Vuitton. Each item was handed to a salesclerk named Delia, whom they’d acquired along the way. Delia smiled, but she was definitely struggling to keep up. It would’ve been hard for most people to stay on pace with Charlotte, even without being loaded down with an armful of clothes. Lily herself was testimony to that fact, shuffling along as Charlotte explained her thinking behind each wardrobe choice she made. A dress for this, a skirt and blouse for that.

“Are you sure you don’t want to pick anything out?” Charlotte asked. “I don’t want to take over your fashion life.”

“I’ll let you know if I see anything I love. I trust that you know what you’re doing.”

“I’ve been to weddings like this before, and you will end up needing several outfits each day. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I feel better when I travel if I have a lot to choose from.”

Lily nodded. She’d had a modest upbringing, but her parents had loved to schlep her and her brother on weekend trips when she was growing up. “Yeah. I get that. It seems like a lot of clothes. I don’t want to go overboard when I’m not paying.”

Charlotte’s eyebrows popped up into high peaks. “For what you’re doing, you deserve to be compensated well. Noah backed us into this corner in the first place.”

“The video itself wasn’t really his fault. How could he have known that would happen?”

“He couldn’t. The tabloids aren’t known for giving their prey a heads-up. But still. He’s the one who decided he needed to date half of the women in the city.”